It’s taken 57 years, but a marker denoting a Kingston Lions Club major contribution to the city is now in place.

The engraved granite marker was intended to preserve the club’s work on the original Kingston City Park pavilion. Instead, it now serves as a reminder of that original gift to the community and the organization’s contribution to the existing pavilion, constructed recently through funds raised by Kingston employees.

As part of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s regulatory role regarding the export of wild American ginseng, the Division of Natural Areas is sending out a reminder to harvesters about the 2012 law change.

A series of upcoming public participation opportunities to address potential rule changes has also been announced.

Effective July 1, Tennessee’s ginseng harvest law was amended to change the harvest season for wild ginseng to Sept. 1-Dec. 31.

By KEN PAULSON
First Amendment Center
Memphis and Knoxville are about 390 miles apart, but they’re in strikingly similar territory as city officials in both try to poach the names of local citizens from newspapers.

In Memphis, attorneys for the Shelby County Commission are trying to force the Memphis Commercial Appeal to reveal the identities of anyone who posted comments on the newspaper’s website over a 21-month span concerning the merger of city and county schools and plans by suburban communities to start school districts.